The Wind Forest
by Kelala1004
Summary: Edward, cocky and arrogant, stumbles into the eyes of a mysterious girl who isn't human. Soon he is exposed to a world unlike any other with the ill-tempored Bella to guide him. Will Bella ever see him as more than just an incompetent human? Lemons. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**The Wind Forest**

The characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. The story is mine. Blah, blah, blah I don't intend to sell this blah, blah, blah.

**Chapter 1: A Little ****Detour**

**E Pov**

"This is just perfect, absolutely perfect." Tanya complained for what seemed like the hundredth time. My response came quickly and harsh. "God, Tanya! Just shut the fuck up for five minutes!" She huffed and turned her attention to the endless dark green wall all around us. I felt claustrophobic going down this road, in the middle of no where. I knew why Tanya was upset. I just didn't have the stomach for her whiney ass prevalently.

We were supposed to be on the highway towards my parents' house. This would have been the first time they met my girlfriend. However, because the universe is a bitch, there was a car wreck in front of us and without thinking I turned strait into an exit that apparently had been closed off. Tanya's shrieking distracted me and we ran right through the closed off sign. The street was too narrow to make a u turn, and that's the amazing story on how we got on this fucking road.

"Hey" She said, "since we're already lost out here we might as well have some fun." Her face grew devilish and suddenly I felt a manicured hand directly on my crotch. It grew hard at her touch and I slowed the car down so I wouldn't fucking crash it. That shit already happened once when she gave me head while I was driving. It turned me on at first but my arousal made a complete one-eighty when I saw the cop lights behind me. They informed me that I had passed three stop signs and almost ran over a dog.

The car stopped and I glanced over at her face. Her eyes were glassy and she was rubbing me through my jeans, but the only thing I could think of was that I needed to pee. "Sorry babe." I removed her hand "Got to take a piss." Tanya rolled her eyes and let me get out of the car. "Wait, what if there's some freak in the woods waiting until you leave me alone?" I ignored her and took the keys with me. I was probably being an asshole, but I didn't give a shit. The forest was dark as hell and I tripped over many branches and shrubs. The trees made an endless dark labyrinth for me to get lost in so I turned on the headlights from my keychain remote thingy. Once I got far enough into the woods, I unzipped my pants. It's not like Tanya hasn't seen me naked before, but for some reason I liked to pee by myself.

I turned around to walk back to the car. The car wasn't there. At least I couldn't see it. All that was in front of me was a shadowy maze of tree trunks and mossy logs. Fuck my life. Had I walked farther than I thought? Had I passed out or some shit? All I knew was that the road or my car were nowhere in sight. "Shit" I hissed. I shouted out Tanya's name and my only reply was the living sound of the forest. I couldn't believe this. She was going to be as pissed as a fucking bull. I had no idea which direction to start walking. It looked the same every where I turned. There was a rustling behind me and as I turned, something rough and fast as lighting scraped across my shoulder. I clutched it immediately only to feel warm sticky liquid running down my elbow.

The thud against a tree came from what ever hit me and I spun around to see an arrow sticking into the trunk, its tail still rocking back and forth from the impact. A fucking arrow! What happened next was a natural thing for me to do with my impetuous, fucked up way of dealing with a bad situation. I bolted for it. For what? I didn't know and I didn't care as I ran blindly in one direction, still clutching my wounded arm. I tripped, of coarse and landed face first in the wet, musky ground. I groaned and rolled over, trying to be quiet just incase the bat-shit crazy fucker was still trying to shoot me. I laid still and closed my eyes, controlling my breath. Suddenly, there was another sound; someone else's breathing, smooth and labored, right above my face. Oh my God. I am seriously going to die. The bat-shit crazy fucker's hand grasped my shirt collar and pulled me up so I was leaning against a tree. I gasped and opened my eyes about to beg for my life like the little pussy I felt like. The person who met my frightened eye was nothing like I expected a bat-shit crazy fucker to look like.

Her eyes were a rich brown, deep and vibrant, like the forest trunks. Even in the dark, her eyes glowed like a fire and I could spot little green freckles in the chocolate depths. Her eyes truly were the forest, like someone took the purest essence of Mother Nature and converted that into this woman's soul. Her face was wild and dangerous and gentle and otherworldly all at the same time. She looked at me like I trespassed on her property or some shit, like I was small and insignificant and bothersome. Which is exactly how I felt. Small and fragile to this girl's stare and if she really was the bat-shit crazy fucker who had shot my arm, than she could have killed me and I would have been the happiest man on earth, just to have the privilege of drowning my self in her fiery eyes in my last few seconds.

"How do you know them?!" She spat, her features angry and sudden. "Wha…" Was my genius response. "The Souls! Are you working for them?!"

"What? No! I don't even know what the hell is going on! Who shot me?!" She didn't seem to hear me, but without warning her chest was against mine, her arms on either side of me. She was looking at something far away. "Don't make a sound." She whispered warningly. She smelled how I thought her eyes looked; like the forest. Like musk and pine. Like herbs and dirt. My torso felt tingly where her body was guarding me and we stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity. I could feel her breasts rise and fall as she fought to control her breathing. She must have been running for God knows how long. What felt like a very long time was only maybe ten seconds, the happiest ten seconds of my life but all too soon something went wrong. Of coarse it did. Like I said, the universe is a bitch. I heard the familiar sound of an arrow hitting a tree, our tree, right above my fucking head. Her head shot up immediately and looked strait into my eyes. She seemed to be thinking over something in her head and in my opinion she was taking her sweet ass time about it considering that we had just been shot at.

The next thing that I could comprehend is that we were both standing strait, the action of doing the latter, I did not notice, and then she took off running dragging me behind by my wrist. Her firm grip was twice as strong as I imagined it to be. My wrist actually hurt from her grasp. We were running fast. Not just fast, but inhumanly fast. The trees were flying past us in a shadowy blur. How my legs could keep up with hers was beyond me. I left all train of thought back with Tanya. Tanya. What is she thinking now? Probably pissed as hell, but what if she came looking for me? What if whatever that was that shot at us, The Souls, attacked her? All those thoughts were put on hold as I saw the girl puling me through the forest take out from a bag that I just now noticed a bright yellow disc. It looked like some sort of neon glass. "What the hell?" She didn't even look back at me as she threw it in front of us. The disc expanded into a large circle that seemed to be full of water in mid air. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!" I shouted, scared out of my mind and confused as hell. We jumped strait toward the water. I closed my eyes and braced myself for whatever came next.

What I didn't expect was what I probably should have as soon as I saw the water. Big surprise, we were now in water. Cool and crisp. It was the clearest water I'd ever been in. I could open my eyes and see perfectly which you can't even do with pure water you buy at a store. Her hand was still secured around my wrist as we emerged, our heads bobbing up to the top, and on the surface something out of a fucking story book greeted us. Everything from the diamond lake we were in to the uncontaminated air left me breathless. There were no cars or cities or factories that I had known growing up. It was villages and the sounds of people and animals. There were more trees than I could ever count and creatures I'd never seen before roaming the dirt roads right beside the villagers, and they were beautiful. It looked primitive but at the same time colorful and lively and peaceful. There were children running around in simple clothes and playing with the creatures. When I was growing up, I played with my fucking game boy. And there behind the trees and houses was a giant ornate building, like a castle, perched on a hill happily. It was a dream, a fairy tale. It was this girl's home.

No one noticed us until we slowly made our way to the land. Then a few individuals turned to stare at us and the girl who was dragging me along ducked her head like she didn't want anyone to recognize her. We stepped out of the water and she led me through the streets, obviously heading for some place specific. All I could do was stare, but I didn't have enough eyes or time. I tried to see everything. It was all so fucking out of this world. She sped up her pace as we got to the more lonely parts of the village, all the while not saying a single word and it was pissing me off. She practically carried me out of my home and said you're going where ever I want you to go and you better not complain about it. Well she had another thing coming. I stopped abruptly, her almost falling from the sudden change. She looked back with a menacing glare.

"Where am I?" That was pretty straight forward and a question I thought she could answer easily. She sighed and closed her eyes, biting her lip. It was probably the cutest fucking thing I'd ever seen. She opened them again and said "We are in The Wind Forest, a village not far from the great castle of Ouran. This world, in your language, would be called The In Between. In our language it is Etuaete" **(pronounced e-doo-ate)** What? We were in a different world? Well I kind of figured something along those lines but having it confirmed that we weren't anywhere close to Chicago anymore was scary as shit. "How the fuck are we in another world?" She contemplated her answer, cocking her head to the side and biting her lip. Once again I felt the need to tell her how undeniably cute she was. "Let's see. The best I can explain it is that Etuaete is where the horizon of heaven and the horizon of earth meet at a balancing point in the interconnected web of existence." I stared at her like she had grown two heads, my jaw open. I snapped it back shut before rambling like a school girl.

"What the hell? _That's _the best you can explain it? I didn't understand a word you just said and what's with the bipolar attitude Ms. I'm-gonna-eat-your-head-off-while-acting-extremely-cute-at-the-same-fucking-time!" Before the words had registered in my brain, they were out in midair, being swallowed by the girl who could very well have the power to kill me with her thumb. Now she was the one who was looking at me like I had grown a second head. There was an uncomfortable silence and I swear I could see her cheeks redden. She looked up into the sky thoughtfully. "I must get you some place safe. I'm sorry I brought you hear but the fact that you can see Souls is something I can't ignore. And you did something to make them mad." There was a hint of a smile there that she tried to fight. "You urinated on their elder's grave stone." She couldn't keep her giggle in then.

I was embarrassed to say the least. Not only had I pissed on someone's grandfather, but she had obviously seen me pee. I was the one blushing and I had no idea why. I've heard girls talk about me before, and in a good way. I knew I was big and I was actually fucking proud of it, but for some reason the fact that _she_ saw it made me self conscious.

"But don't worry." She began, "Even though, normally humans aren't allowed here I— "What?!" I screamed "Humans?" She nodded, looking bewildered by my outburst. I tried to calm down by taking deep breaths but she was so close to me, it wasn't helping. "Ok" I said a bit calmer, "so you're not human?" She shook her head no. "Well not completely. My mother was human, so I guess I'm half." I asked her what her father was, since he obviously _wasn't _human. "There is no word for it in your language. I suppose we could be associated with wood nymphs." Where had I heard that before? That's right. In Biology. We were studying moths and butterflies. Wood nymphs were brown moths that lived in forests with creeks or lakes. But I couldn't figure out why I would associate her with a moth. They weren't exactly the prettiest of bugs and this girl was definitely easy on the eyes.

She saw my confused expression and explained that they were like the mythical creature, wood nymph, a graceful species of the forest; the guardians of the forest. But we weren't in the forest. We weren't even on earth so I remained confused. She sighed looking quite annoyed by my slow ass brain. "We are not wood nymphs. I said we closely associate with wood nymphs. They do exist on earth but we just have many similarities, like the ears." She pulled back her long brown hair and on her ear was a very small point, unnoticeable at first glance, "and the heart." She took my hand and placed it gingerly just above her left breast. I stilled my movements to feel that her heart was beating quite fast. "We also have long limbs and fingers, but all these traits aren't dominant because I'm a hybrid." I think I understood, although there were a thousand questions that I wanted to ask, I wouldn't because of her strange and unpredictable nature. I was afraid of her getting angry. She removed my hand from her chest which I wasn't happy about and she began moving again, but this time without my hand. I suppose she expected me to follow like a puppy and I did. I was such a pussy.

If Emmett saw me he would think of a dozen names to call me, each one stating that I was a lovesick puppet willing to do anything for this girl. Of coarse I wasn't in love except for Tanya. But I'm not sure I even loved her yet. What was she doing now? It had at least been an hour since I left the car. She didn't even have the keys, since I brought them with me. I patted my pockets and couldn't feel them. I must have dropped them in the forest. Not that it mattered now, but I couldn't help but wonder if Tanya was ok. She has her cell phone so I'm sure she could call for someone to find her. However, that thing that shot at me was probably still in those woods. I didn't have any idea if they knew where she was. All I knew is that they were angry at me. I couldn't tell what that meant for Tanya.

We walked for a while and something came to my mind that I was surprised didn't come earlier. "What's your name?" I asked. She didn't turn around and I thought she wasn't going to answer but then in the silence came her reply. "Bella" She whispered, "daughter of King Aro and Queen Jane." I stopped and stared at the back of her head. The princess's fucking head.


	2. Chapter 2

**Ridiculous Situation**

**B pov**

How had I gotten into this situation? Of all the things Father would chide me for doing, this had to be the most reckless of them all. A human in our midst was considered taboo to the greatest extent, and to think that I was the cause of it. There was no way to prevent bringing humans in; everyone just knew and obeyed the law without question. The human body was too complex for any protection we could make, and so if one truly wanted to, they could smuggle them in easily, but no one wanted to. Humans were vile creatures who destroy their own lives for merits. In the eyes of the kingdom, that was all they were. My father and I knew better.

My father knew more than anyone that the stereotype for humans was false. Never the less, he was the one who made the law of banishing humans from our existence. Any act against the law was supposedly met with cruel retribution. However, no one went far enough to test the punishment. Everyone believes the king. After decades of rumors and the absence of a species once so interesting to us, the kingdom of Etuaete became oblivious and lonely.

Now all of that seemed pointless, the years my father had spent protecting me from the turmoil a human could bring, because I was the one who brought one in. And not only a human but an arrogant and small minded one. How had this happened? How had I gone so low as to seek out something strange in the air? He was strange. He could see Souls and he could see us. That was one thing my father was good at, making us invisible to the eye of the beholder. But this boy was not affected by any of our rules. He even thought I was human. A few people have direct decedents who've seen us, communed with us even and they have the sense to acknowledge our presence, but we are only a smell or a change in the air, nothing more. But him! He saw me as clear as the midnight sun. And the fact that he was so unaware of what he was doing to the Souls was in fact humorous. I couldn't leave him there to be killed because that was surely what would have happened.

At first I thought he was loyal to them, working under the lowest of classes to be in a supernatural setting, but he seemed as stupid as the rumors. What was I to tell the king? I felt like I found an abandoned, helpless puppy and was bringing him to my father in hopes he would let me keep him, but I had no desire to keep this human as a pet. I could not just leave him, for he was now my responsibility, but getting attached to this mindless thing was something I would prevent. He had a charm that made it difficult to accomplish such tasks but not very. I would figure out how to dispose of him and not bat an eyelash.

We were heading to Alice's house. She was my closest friend and the only one who knew I disobeyed Father's orders and went outside of the castle which was forbidden. She was not a part of the rumors. She neither hated nor loved humans. This would be the first time she's ever seen one.

As we drew near her home, I turned around to see the human deep in thought, looking at the ground. He did not see me stop and ran right into me which was greatly vexing. "Sorry." He looked embarrassed. I began to tell him the protocol for dealing with Alice's flamboyant and eccentric nature. "She is very…hyper. I'm giving you forewarning just this once." I knocked on the door, its wood carved into an intricate design of flowers and vines. Jasper, her mate, had built this house for her and I thought fit her personality very well. She answered before I pulled my hand away, a gracious smile blooming on her face as she met mine. "What did you get into this time, Bella?" She smiled wider until she saw him. Her grin slowly disappeared and in its place grew a look of pure shock. "Is that…is that a _human_?!" She asked, horrified. "What have you done? Why is it here? Does your father know? Did anyone follow you? A Human?!" She bombarded me with inquiries not giving me time to answer before she asked another. "Alice!" I cupped my hand over her mouth and moved past her into the house, dragging the human along behind me.

She closed the door and looked at me expectantly, as if I could remember all of her questions. "Well?" She pressed. "I can't think right now ok?" She nodded and moved towards the human who stared at her, obviously noticing the differences in her features. "Do you have a name?" And then I realized that I had never asked his name, like he did. He kept quiet after I told him who I was. He glanced at me like he was asking permission which was ridiculous. I nodded anyway. "Edward" He said cautiously. "Can someone explain to me what the hell's going on?" His impatient attitude was getting on my nerves. "Well you get right to the point don't you?" Alice said. "I wonder how similar you are to us." She mumbled before pulling on his copper hair. "Ow!" He flinched away, and I chuckled. Of coarse Alice would be curious, given that he was a completely different species she knew almost nothing about. I just felt pity for Edward, for he was the one who had to deal with her curiosity. She started pulling on his clothes and his ears, pretty much any where that she could get her hands on and if Edward look embarrassed before, it was nothing compared to how he looked now. I wasn't surprised. Our species was considered attractive to most humans and having one place her hands all over you, I would imagine being quite the experience. I chuckled at how she wanted to lift his shirt up but he wouldn't let her.

I laughed again. "Alice, I'm sure his chest doesn't look that different from Jasper's. He's about the same size." She dropped his shirt and smiled. "You're probably right." Alice looked at the very red Edward. "He is quite cute, though." She giggled then turned to me, expecting some sort of agreement. I did not give her any. She knew my father wanted me to get married and had offered several males to my judgment, but I refused them all. I was not looking for any relationship, but the look on Alice's face was all too familiar to me. She was going to try to match a _human _with me. Of all the strange things she had come up with, this was the most vile. Oh how I imagined what Father would think if I brought home this boy with plans to marry him. It would be following his footsteps exactly, which he was strongly against.

Queen Jane was not my mother. I never considered her to be a part of our family. No, my mother was a human, but very beautiful and gentle and giving. My mother was a woman named Renee. She had met my Father when he was still prince and they fell in love like fire spread, rapidly and out of control. Their love was kept secret, for my grandfather and the king at the time did not approve of relationships between us and them. We were too different in his mind and so my father could never officially marry Renee. One night the king found Renee in the prince's bedroom and became so furious that he executed the human and forced another female of our species onto my father. I know he did not love Jane and so no one would ever have to feel the hardships of different species relationships, he created a law that isolated our world from theirs. And if I planned to marry this boy, I would be falling into the same hole as my father, Aro. Humans were simply not compatible with us. One could love them and they could very well love back, but there was a wall that remained a mystery to Father, a wall that made him feel unbalanced. There was a loss of relativity that they both shared, like there were too many differences to ever belong, too many problems in the relationship to harmonize.

Age is the main setback. Our life span is approximately one thousand times longer than a human's. And while one withered and broke, the other stayed young and strong watching their loved one die and not having the sense to be near them or right behind them on the way to the afterlife. They felt helpless and lonely as their mate left with the love that could have lasted centuries but only survived a few decades.

My thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. "Oh, that must be Jasper!" Alice exclaimed. She rushed to the door to find her mate with a rose in his hand. He tenderly handed it to her and looked towards me. "Hello, Bella. I haven't seen you in a while since you"— his eyes had drifted to Edward's awkward stance. And though he slid Alice slightly behind him, he did not grow furious which I thought he might. Jasper had no opinion on humans much like Alice. He would be cautious if he found any male in her house. Jasper was always protective, never letting her go to Earth or fight Souls, where Alice's expertise lay.

"Bella, I know this is your human, because you are the only one in The Wind Forest who would do something this reckless. You're reason is your business, but I hope you know what you're doing, which you don't half of the time." I was not offended, for it was entirely true. My acts were almost always spontaneous. "I know, Jasper that you will not agree to this. However, this is Alice's choice since it's her house." I turned to look at her curious face. "Could this human please, _please _stay with you while I try to figure out what to do with him? Just until then." Jasper stiffened, but Alice nodded her head brightly. "Of course, Bella." Edward was looking at me with pleading eyes, obviously not happy with his accommodations. His eyes were a soft green and denying him was, to my surprise, difficult. And it was the most absurd thing in the world. Since when had I been affected by someone's eyes? They were mesmerizing to the fullest, but to be this vulnerable to a _human_ no less was absolutely insulting. I felt weak and under control. However, it was not enough for me to agree to his pleading stare. I ignored Edward's face, for it clearly was affecting my ability to focus and shot Jasper one last apologetic look before they walked out the door, hands linked.

This was the time they normally went out for a walk, leaving me to prepare this human for the danger in living with Alice. I honestly felt bad for him. I glanced over toward him and he was looking right back at me. Staring was more like it, like he was thinking about something and did not realize what he was doing. I cleared my throat to snap him out of it. Edward's eyes were alive again, their green depths turning liquid. I could get lost in them.

Of course, here I was becoming vulnerable once again. I'll have to figure out a way to cure this maddening fancy that I have with him, I thought to myself.

Alice's house was small, but she was also small and living alone, which made it difficult for me to find a place for Edward to sleep. Her home was cluttered and disorganized, yet welcoming and sound. There were clothes every where of all colors, scattered along the floor and tables. I had no idea how Jasper could put up with her. There was an extra room that held her blankets for winter, and then I figured I could make some sort of a pallet out of these. It was of quick timing in which his bed was made. I turned to see him gawking at the piled up blankets. "This is where I'm supposed to fucking sleep? You have got to be kidding me." I was outraged beyond belief, for I did not have to make him this. I didn't have to do anything. The easiest way out of this would be for me to call the guards of the castle and have this ungrateful human taken away, but I didn't because of my compassion for these creatures and that's exactly what I told him. "How dare you! What a stupid unseeing child you are! I could have left you there in the woods to be murdered! Do you know what Souls do to the people they capture? They rape them for hours until they get hungry! They eat you alive and then wear your skin for clothing! Is that what you would prefer instead of the torture of having to sleep on this horrible thing?!" My rant was finished, but the horror on his face did not leave for a long time. "I—I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean to seem ungrateful. Just please don't take me to them! The Souls! I'll do anything. I really am sorry." His panic was fading into a quiet plea and what could I do but grant him his wish. I was worthless; I could not stay angry at him for more than a minute. And with my last shred of dignity, I slowly nodded and wrapped my arms around his torso, feeling the warmth, his heart, his spirit,


	3. Chapter 3

**In It For Life**

**E POV**

When Bella told me what The Souls did, I almost threw up. All the serial killers and mass murderers had nothing on these things, and the possibility of her leaving me behind in those woods terrified me. What were they? Before her explanation, I honestly didn't think humans were capable of doing something like that. Sure there were rapists and pedophiles, but even they had limits. This seemed barbaric, so maybe they weren't human.

It became clear, in that moment, that she honestly held my life in her hands, and upsetting her like I had done with the "bed" was out of the question. Bella had the power to throw me to the wolves and I couldn't do a god damn thing about it. All I could do was stay on her good side. And so I begged like a pussy, about to fucking get down on my knees if that was what it took for her to give in.

After my pledge to be grateful from this point on, she looked ashamed. Of what, I did not know. Without pealing her eyes away from the floor, she nodded. Unlike most of her actions, this one was slow and delicate. I held my breath as she came closer, confused as to what she was planning to do, until I felt small but strong arms wrap around my waste. Saying I was shocked would've been an understatement. I was blown away, and my mind went back to that moment in the woods. Even though we were in danger, her smell and her skin sent shivers down my spine, and as we stood their in Alice's house, I couldn't focus on anything else except her body against mine. Without hesitation I circled her shoulders in a tight embrace, making her figure press against me even more.

"I am hopeless." She whispered into my chest. I didn't know what she meant by that, but denied it anyway. "No, you're one of the most independent, strong-hearted people I know." She looked up then, and I froze. If eyes could speak, her's would have. I could see sadness and hope and confusion. I squeezed her tighter, producing a soft sigh from her throat.

"Well, I hope I'm not interrupting anything." The annoying voice chimed, "but this is my house. Bella, you should just take him back to you're chambers." Bella jumped so high, the top of her head smacked my chin. "Ow!" I moaned. She leaped out of my arms with the reddest of shades smothered on her cheeks, but appeared unharmed by our contact. Alice giggled, and skipped in the door, unaware of what a mother-fucking cock block she was. Bella, still blushing furiously, glared at Alice. "I am absolutely not going to take him anywhere! You saw nothing of affection what so ever." She shouted with her fists balled up. "That was sure a quick walk, Alice! Unless you were just outside the window, like I know you were!" Alice smiled sheepishly. "I might have. That still doesn't deny the fact that you were embracing him very fondly, almost lovingly." Bella groaned and turned to me, still fuming. "You can sleep on this" she pointed to the piled up blankets, "or you can sleep outside!" And with that she shoved past me and Alice and slammed the door.

I was speechless. Not only had she said that there was no affection at all, but on top of that, her reaction was just strait up fucking vicious. I mean, I was embarrassed too, but didn't bite anyone's head off. I looked to Alice who just sighed and shrugged. "I know what you're thinking. She has lost her mind." She giggled again. "And that might be true, but that's not the reason she got so upset." Alice motioned for me to sit beside her on a couch. "Bella has always been and probably always will be the most stubborn creature you'll ever meet. She does not believe in true love or destiny or anything of the sort, and to be caught in a moment of vulnerability was unsettling to her. And now she is probably moping somewhere, trying to think of a way for her to gain her pride back. She could erase my memory. That is fairly easy to accomplish with a few spells, but I know she wouldn't do that. She is much too kind-hearted to everyone, but exceptionally so to the people she cares for most." She smirked. "Do you know how she said she could have left you there in the woods?" I was frustrated, for she had definitely been listening when I begged for my life. "Yes, I heard you're plea. But about what she said, about leaving you there to die. She was lying."

I looked at her questionably. "She couldn't have done anything close to that, even if you were her worst enemy. You might not believe me, but did you know she's never killed anything besides Souls?" Alice was right. I couldn't believe her, and somehow I thought this was a secret, Bella wouldn't have shared with me. "Not even hunting." she murmured. And as I thought of her face, even when hostile or annoyed, I realized she was compassionate through and through. Of coarse she could have left me behind, but she didn't for any other reason than she couldn't let someone die. While I was a stuck up prick that thought with my dick, she was trying to save my fucking life. I also thought about how annoying Alice was when she barged in on us, about how I thought she was interrupting what could have actually been something. I saw that I was wrong. Bella wouldn't submit herself to me no matter what, with or without Alice's presence. She wasn't like other girls.

I had been fucking Tanya for a long time before we got together, and I knew why. I was attractive and I knew how girls thought of me and how they saw me. Truthfully, I didn't have a problem with it; I actually fucking enjoyed it, but Bella just wasn't that type of person. She was the only girl that I had met that didn't jump on me right away, besides Angela. She was the quiet girl in homeroom with her glasses and her nose in books. She had a nice body and face so I thought I might as well do her, with images of me bending her over on the library desks and pounding into her as hard as I could, but she was as indifferent as if I had asked out a cat. She just walked away without fucking giving me a response.

I was Edward, the man-whore according to my brother's fiancée, Rosalie, and was lucky as shit to get a hug out of Bella.

When Alice was ready for bed she attempted to rearrange the blankets for me, but her effort was useless. The pile was bigger than her. I made do with what I had then drifted off to sleep, dreaming of dark woods and the sound of arrows flying by my ears.

The smells. They were what grabbed me first, the dusty smell of the blankets and the smell of food. And then I felt the warmth of sun rays filtering through the windows and hitting my face. I turned away from the window and shut my eyes tighter, burying my face into the silky covers. I heard the sounds of metal, but past it were birds and the soft rustling of leaves. I groaned and reached for Tanya, something I did because I heard girls loved that shit. My hand found empty air and I opened my heavy eyelids to see where she was. She usually didn't wake up till noon.

The room that greeted me was not familiar right away, and for a moment I didn't know where I was. The walls were a gray brick and the furniture was weathered, but with soft colors. There were books on shelves along one wall, their spines worn away to the point where I couldn't see the titles. And clothes, so many clothes. Hangers slung on door frames with a curtain of nature colored silk and cotton. It was out of a fairytale.

But then everything that had happened yesterday came pounding back into my head like a train. My skull throbbed and my shoulder that I tried not to sleep on, for there was still an open gash, now felt well. My neck ached from the awkward position I had slept in and told myself I was going to find a solution to that later.

Looking at my shredded, dirt covered clothing, I immediately checked my shoulder. My shirt sleeve had been ripped off which revealed my blood-cleaned arm and a white bandage that wound tightly around the injury.

There was humming, sweet and melodic, coming from somewhere in the cottage. I tried to sit up but felt dizzy and fell back into the mess of cloth.

The humming turned to words and I recognized it as Alice.

_Play in the brow-beating light as they come_

_And wither and dance in the milky moon_

_A thistle, a song, when you hear them run_

_A lovely night won't shine until we've begun_

_When the warmth is at its high_

_And camellias bloom_

_The scentless flower will cry_

_Right to withhold the gloom_

_Come sing tonight in your gown_

_White and green and gray_

_Come sing, Come sing_

_While the dead play_

_Come sing, come sing_

_The Macabre_

I sat up and listened to her sing, its melody haunting and ghostly yet the lyrics warm. I stood up slowly trying to get a hold of my balance. I followed Alice's singing through the halls to a kitchen of metal and wood. This was where the food smell was coming from. Meat and biscuits and fruit. I had died and gone to heaven. "Damn, that smells delicious." I praised her. She giggled and thanked me, leading me to a chapped, wooden table. As soon as she sat the plate on the table, I began to stuff my face uncouthly. Alice smiled at my eagerness and made a plate for herself.

It was the best breakfast I had ever eaten. I hated to admit it, but better than my mother's cooking. The rich, salty flavor of the sausages and the soft flakiness of yellow biscuits had me drooling. I gulped it down with sweet strawberries and crisp melons.

Alice sat down a glass of milk which I swallowed after eating everything. My parched throat relieved from the cold and creamy drink. I hadn't eaten dinner last night and all the running we did left me starving. I finished the glass with a full stomach.

"You are one hell of a cook, Alice." She smiled and turned to clean up while I was left there pondering what it was that had changed. I did not normally praise people so much. My manners were scarce, with little appearances at all, and to be able to give someone compliments so easily was not a trait I had acquired, but just then it came naturally. There was no forced effort to be polite. It could possibly have been the forest or Bella, their mysterious wonders unfolding a psychological reaction in me. A catalyst for my own changes, whether positive or not.

Something stirred in me. Unrecognizable and unidentifiable, but still nagging at me like a paper cut. I wanted to see her again. The want I felt was for her face and her eyes and voice and her temper. All of it.

"Alice?" I said, "Where's Bella?" She turned from scrubbing plates and looked at me knowingly with a smile, then turned back to her task. "She's probably still at the castle. She sleeps in incredibly late." I smiled. So did Tanya.

I was startled by a gentle knock on the door. Alice giggled and headed to open it, only to find the man that came here last night…. Jasper. He looked at me briefly and nodded before leaning down to kiss Alice in the forehead. "So Bella still doesn't know what to do with him." He muttered. Alice replied with a grin. "No, but I think she is fond of him. I caught them hugging for a while." She looked at me and I could feel my cheeks heat up like a little girl. "Alice I told you not to sneak up on them. Bella was probably furious."

"She was, but you know how she is. It shall be forgotten by tomorrow." She said confidently. Maybe Alice was right. In spite of everything that I had said, all she did was yell at me, when I had a strong feeling she could have done much worse. I admired that she wasn't the type of person to hold a grudge, unlike Tanya who would stay angry until she forgot why we were fighting in the first place.

Something in me felt tired of Tanya. No, just tired of comparing Tanya to Bella and once I found a way to get back home I wouldn't feel the need to. Everything would be normal again. This thought was uncomfortable somehow.

Another knock on the door. My hopes to see Bella were quenched when her brilliant forest eyes revealed themselves through the door. However, something felt out of place, in a way I could not begin to describe or even notice until she came closer for it was so subtle. She walked gracefully towards me, past Alice and Jasper.

"I'm sorry" She whispered, her head bent down. Alice whispered something to her mate and looked strange, cautious. Bella looked up then, her eyes so beautiful and glassy; I had to hold my breath. She inched closer until I could feel the heat from her skin, only inches separating us. Alice gasped and Jasper cursed but everything left my mind as she closed the distance between us and stood on her toes to kiss me sweetly. Why? Why was she doing this?

Nothing made sense. Our lips separated when I heard a loud smack right in front of me, the vibrations hurting my ears. Bella lay on the cottage floor with her head cracked open spilling crimson. Jasper was above her, his hand positioned like cat's claws with Bella's blood stained on his fingers.

"WHAT THE HELL!!!!" I screamed. I looked down at Bella's unmoving body then looked at Jasper. He did not look at me. He kept his eyes fixed on the lifeless form below him. "WHAT DID YOU DO?! YOU KILLED HER!!!!" I ended the answer to my own question with a crack. He glanced at me quickly then said "It'll take a lot more than that to kill it." Bella's body twitched and I gasped. When my shaking arms tried to help her Jasper snapped at me to stay away. "Are you crazy?!" I shouted, "There's a giant fucking gash in her head and you want me to just stand here, ass-hole?" Apparently he didn't approve of me calling him such a name because the next thing I knew, I was flying across the room with a smash in my chest. I slammed into the wall with a sickening crunch.

"Jasper!" Alice screeched and ran over towards me. "You can fix him easily Alice," He said "but I need you to keep him out of my way before this thing gets back up." "What?!" I screamed, "Bella?" Alice shushed me. "That's not Bella."


End file.
